After the publication of an error-ridden 2024 election autopsy, a report that was supposed to explain why Democrats so dramatically underperformed that presidential cycle, the Washington Examiner reached out to more than 50 elected or formally elected party members last week to ascertain their support for Martin.
Some of those Democrats are expected to launch their own presidential campaigns next year.
But by close of business Friday, despite re-upped communication, only three, all through spokespeople or other representatives, replied.
Of the elected Democrats, the Washington Examiner contacted lawmakers in the House and Senate who are in competitive races ahead of this November’s midterm elections, from Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), in addition to the Democrats contesting Senate seats in the battleground states of Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Ohio.
Only a spokesman for Gluesenkamp Perez responded.
“Thank you for reaching out but we don’t have anything for you in this,” he told the Washington Examiner.
The Washington Examiner also contacted Democrats, elected or otherwise, who are anticipated to run for their party’s 2028 presidential nomination, including Govs. Andy Beshear (D-KY), Wes Moore (D-MD), Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), JB Pritzker (D-IL), and Josh Shapiro (D-PA), as well as the likes of former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Chris Murphy (D-CT), Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and even former Vice President Kamala Harris.
A spokesman for Newsom’s official office forwarded the Washington Examiner’s inquiry to his political team, while a source close to former ambassador to Japan, Chicago mayor, and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel told the Washington Examiner he was prioritizing speaking about his education policy proposals before a cycling tour next weekend in the early-voting state of New Hampshire.
The silence to the Washington Examiner, however, fails to capture the frustration of many Democrats after the release of the autopsy report, which was only made public amid pressure created by reporters reporting on its contents.
“We need to focus on the people, and the Democratic Party desperately needs new leadership, and that’s what’s exciting me about this cycle,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), another speculated 2028 presidential candidate, told CNN last weekend. “It’s not only new leaders emerging, but a new vision for our party.”
Former DNC Vice Co-Chair David Hogg, who was pushed out of his leadership position last year, added in a fundraising email, “Ken Martin should resign immediately, and the DNC should select a new leader who demonstrates genuine competence, creativity, moral clarity, and a relentless commitment to actually fixing the Democratic Party’s broken brand.”
Reps. Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Marc Veasey (D-TX) have made similar comments to Axios and Semafor, respectively, as has Pod Save America host Dan Pfeiffer, former President Barack Obama’s onetime communications director and senior adviser.
Martin had promised to be transparent regarding the autopsy report after he was elected DNC chair last February, but by December, he had reneged on that pledge, prompting criticism from Harris and Shapiro, among others.
In response to a crescendo of reporting on its contents, Martin then reversed course, disclosing the autopsy in a surprise announcement earlier this month.
“For full transparency, I am releasing the report as we received it, in its entirety, unedited and unabridged,” Martin wrote in a statement. “It does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards, but I am doing this because people need to be able to trust the Democratic Party and trust our word.”
The autopsy report was incomplete and contained spelling mistakes, factual errors, and repeated disclaimers distancing the DNC from Paul Rivera, the Democratic strategist and a friend of Martin, who was responsible for drafting it.
The autopsy was criticized for not addressing problems Democrats had in 2024 with the economy, particularly inflation, the Israel–Hamas war in Gaza, and former President Joe Biden’s age, as well as for distracting from the party’s messaging before the fall midterm elections on topics from President Donald Trump‘s own economy to his long list of construction projects at the White House and around Washington, D.C.
More broadly, the autopsy has exacerbated concerns with respect to Martin’s leadership as the Republican National Committee and other Trump-related groups outraise their Democratic counterparts by millions of dollars.
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Martin could be removed as DNC chairman through a vote of no confidence, which would take two-thirds of the DNC membership base to pass, or by senior Democrats, such as House and Senate leadership, imploring him to step down.
“Personally, I’m not certain he makes it to August,” a DNC member who was granted anonymity in order to speak candidly with the Washington Examiner said last week.
Mabinty Quarshie and Lauren Green contributed to this report.
